Spring Dreaming

Every few days, I see the weather forecast, hoping that it will show a warming trend.  And every forecast for the whole month has been the same:  cold, cold, and more cold!  I keep thinking, it can't go on much longer, but tomorrow is the first of March and we are looking forward to another 6 inches of snow.  Sheesh!  When I took down the Christmas decorations, I left this cute display of snowmen because they looked so cheerful all together like that, almost like a barbershop quartet, but I took them down today.  Enough is enough!

In place of the snowmen, I put the little mixed-media "tunnel book" I made a couple of years ago.  It's nice to gaze at it and imagine myself in a park on a spring day, meandering along the path past azaleas and daffodils, with the sound of a fountain splashing and birds singing in the trees, the perfume of blossoms in the air...

I've been trying to get down to my creative space when I can, and recently added this page to my art journal.  It was another "lesson" in Pam Carricker's book, "Art at the Speed of Life."  In this one, we chose a figure to put on the page and I happened to come across this photo of Michelangelo's David.  I love the way his gaze is so intense that you want to turn to see what it is he's looking at.  I have yet to add some text.  I'll probably find a quote about courage or underdogs going against the odds.

I also started the background for another piece to go on the 16" square box that will be part of the next FANE exhibit (see previous post).  This time I glued down some paper pieces before I painted the fabric, but then added a little more paper on top.  Here's the first couple of layers...

 And here's where it's headed.  I intend to add another bird in flight and a nest among the branches.

So happy March, and Think Spring!

Reality Check

Of course, it did snow on Friday, and the schools were closed, so I had less free time than I thought. But I was able to add one more thing to the sketchbook, a statement I wrote up about fiber art and why I choose that medium. I had to keep it very short, so it took a while to whittle it down word by word, but I did it, and now it's really ready to mail. I thought I might have time to visit the SAQA website and sign up(goal #1), or to start one of my weekly fabric sketches (goal #2) but all I did was prewash and iron the yardage of canvas I plan to cut up and have ready. Here are some other things I did this weekend:

• Played in the snow! Haven't done that in a long time, but really enjoyed sledding down the hill in the backyard with the girls, the dog, and my hubby
• Shopped for new snow pants and other snow supplies for myself and my older daughter
• Packed up all the Christmas things with a lot of help from the fam
• Baked banana bread
• Went grocery shopping
• Did several loads of laundry

AND spent some time revisiting, hand stitching, and embellishing the "conceptual art" quilt I constructed back in September. I always thought it wasn't quite finished but needed a push to make the final decisions about how to finish it. The possibility of entering it in the "made in NY" show at the Schweinfurth gave me the nudge I needed. Below are some detail shots of some areas where I've added hand stitching and embellishments. I think it's even more interesting to look at now, and I think there are more clues to help the viewer understand why I like fabric and how expressive it can be. I'll post another shot of the entire thing when it's all completed. I hope to have it done by Wednesday so I can photograph it and get it on a disc and in the mail by Friday!

"March Forth!"

On Monday I read a review of this gorgeous book and found it on the shelf at the library. I think I've read it every day this week and today I finally checked it out and brought it home so I can look at the illustrations more closely. I can't say whose work I admire more: the author or the illustrator. Joyce Sidman's poems about colors through the seasons are wondrous and imaginative. In this amazing world Pamela Zagarenski has created, everything seems to float in a quiet dreamy place that matches the poetry beautifully. The mixed media collages are detailed, intricate and fanciful and as a budding artist, I am curious how she creates them. (Read an interview and see many beautiful pieces by clicking here). The only issue I have with the book is that it has already filled the niche that I hoped to fill with my own poetry book about a colorful year... it's a bit daunting. It raises the bar on what a quality children's picture book is and only makes the competition tougher!

But March 4th ("March forth!") seems like a good day to take a step forward, even if it's a small step or I'm not sure where I'm going. I finally got a glimmer of inspiration for a piece I need to complete by early April, so maybe I'll head downstairs to move forward a little...

Finishing up 2009

Thought I would get in one last post this year. Here is the (nearly) finished Waterlilies piece I created at the request of my mother-in-law. I started it in October and worked on the quilting during that month. I have to admit, with this piece, I spent so much time with my seam ripper, I decided to give it a name! (I named him Jack; I think that's appropriate -get it? - Jack the Seam ripper!). I redid the quilting, or portions of it, more than once, and also had to redo part of the binding. Another thing that slowed me down was choosing the border fabric. I bought one fabric, then wasn't sure, and kept shopping at various stores up until last week, when I decided I'd better just make a decision and finish this! I think I bought four different fabrics in all. I ended up going with my first choice after all, and I'm happy with it. Yesterday I added a few sequins for sparkle and I still have to add the sleeve for hanging and label on the back. I hope my inlaws will be able to take it with them when they leave on Sunday. My mother-in-law seemed very happy with the final result. She plans to hang it over their bed. I think the oval shapes which appear to float over the surface and the calming color scheme are appropriate for a bedroom. Here are a few detail shots of the piece:

I have been thinking about the past year's accomplishments and contemplating goals for 2010 - I'll share that with you next post!

AEDM Day 16

Once again, I am avoiding some projects that have deadlines in order to have fun and explore! I got such positive comments about the bookmarks that I decided to make another batch of paper-cloth in order to make more. The library where I work has a holiday sale every year, selling slightly used and new books at great prices. I thought I might donate some bookmarks and see how they are received. This is the latest paper-cloth, which I learned from an article by Kelli Nina Perkins in Cloth Paper Scissors magazine (May/June 2009, issue 24). This time I stamped some white snowflakes onto the tissue paper before tearing it up, and I layered it on a fabric that was already a pale lavender. After the glue wash was dry, I added some scraps of dotted swiss, curtain lace, and other sheer fabrics. Next, I will make a quilt sandwich and do some machine stitching all over it to make sure everything is well attached. Then I'll cut it into bookmark-size strips and add embellishments and words. I'll bind them with a zig-zag stitch, yarn or cording. Even though it seems like a lot of steps for something I'll be giving away, it's nice to have a bunch of small projects to work on when I only have a few minutes, or I'm just too tired to tackle one of my more ambitious projects.

Christmas Card

There is a pear tree growing in our neighborhood and I passed it almost everyday on my daily walk with the dog. The pears looked so ruddy and earthy, it got me thinking about how I might incorporate them into my art somehow. I tried photographing them, but the pictures didn't come out very well (I just couldn't get close enough, and the day wasn't bright enough). I decided to just use them as inspiration for this year's Christmas card. I've been thinking about and planning this design for a while, but the actual construction only took a little more than two days. I was fortunate to come across just the right fabric and ribbons (the tail piece was just a small swatch I picked up for free!). Another reason it came together so quickly is my right and left brains seem to be having an easier time working together! My right brain always comes up with these great ideas, but my left brain has to figure out how to make them into reality, how to logically construct them in a simple, fast, neat, meaningful way. Things just seemed to gel with this piece (maybe I'm finally getting my act together...). Some questions for you: Should I add snowflakes or something in the upper corners? What could the card's sentiment be? I'll mull those over for a few days...

Geometrix

Here it is, Art Every Day Month, and I'm actually posting two days in a row! I think this is a first for me! This 5"x5" piece is made up of scraps from previous projects. I got the idea to use them up, possibly in pieces that are mosaic-like. This piece did not turn out the way I expected - it's not mosaic-like at all, but I like the color palette and I had fun embellishing it. It actually took me three short sessions over the course of three days. (Between the dog, the kids, the phone and my work schedule, I have to make the most of every quarter-hour).

Rainy Halloween crafts

It has been a dreary wet week here in the Hudson Valley, and even Cassie is a bit bummed by all the wet weather. Here she is on Wednesday after her daily morning play session with the two dogs next door. They always seem to find the one spot in the yard where grass doesn't grow. It gets nice and muddy and they roll and play and end up looking like something the cat dragged in! I had to quickly bathe her before work and then clean up the tub! Today we are playing indoors, or staying on the leash!

While my husband was out with our two youngest girls for a wet afternoon movie, my oldest daughter, who is home with flu-like symptoms (!) stitched up a bunch of these quickie pumpkins and gourds. The idea came from the October 09 issue of Family Fun magazine, and they were so easy and quick (and of course I happened to have a decent stash of orangey-yellow fabrics), she was able to fill up some otherwise boring hours keeping her fingers busy. She really loves how cute they came out. They will make nice seasonal decorations or Thanksgiving dinner centerpieces or something.

Here is another batch of paper-cloth I made in September. I had set it aside, not sure how I would use it, when I thought about cutting out some leaf shapes. I just love the endless variety of leaves that are scattered and mixed in big leaf puddles all over the lawns and roads this time of year. The maple leaf in the upper right was layered with felt as batting, machine stitched around the edges, and hand stitched for veining. What will I do with them when they're all quilted? I'm not sure... I could string them together somehow in a garland or mobile-like wall hanging, or print inspiring words on them and give them as little gifts... I'll play with them and see what develops...

Autumn Anticipation

I started out with the intention of making another piece of paper cloth, this time using reds, oranges, and yellows. But I ended up trying an experiment with fabric instead, using Mistyfuse as an adherent instead of the glue mixture. I intended to cut it up into smaller pieces to possibly make a wearable art pin or bookmark, but it looked so nice as one piece, I decided to make a quilt sandwich using felt as batting and then went to town with the embellishments. I love the colors and textures of autumn!